Heel protector for work shoes



Oct. 18, 1966 w. R. SHELTON 3,279,103

HEEL PROTECTOR FOR WORK SHOES Filed Aug. 23, 1965 I NVENTOR. W142, 14 M 5. 292527011 United States Patent 1 Claim. (01. 36-74) My invention is directed toward a device, which I call a heel protector, which protects the heels of shoes worn by workmen from breakage and crushing during use and in addition provides additional protection for the workmans ankles.

It is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved heel protector which can be readily attached to and removed fiom shoe heels.

Another object is to provide a new and improved heel protector of the character indicated which can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of my invention will now be explained with reference both to this specification and to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a View in cross-section showing my invention in use;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a modification of my invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional detail showing the modification of FIGURE 3 as attached to a shoe heel.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown a shoe having a heel 12. A metal member 14 is provided with a vertical strip 16 which is placed in registration with the periphery of the heel, and which in crosssection has the shape of a U. The strip 16 has a top horizontal edge 18 and a bottom horizontal edge 20.

Integral with the bottom edge 20 is a U-shaped horizontal strip 22 having spaced apart V shaped serrations 24 thus dividing strip 22 into a plurality of flat sections 26, each of which has a nail hole 28. Nails 30 extending upward through holes 28 secure member 14 to the heel to provide the heel protector.

As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, strip 22 can be hinged to strip 16 as shown at 40, and in addition, the nails can have an enlarged portion 42 just below the point 44, whereby the nails cannot fall out of the holes 28 (which are just large enough to accommodate the nails). Moreover, the nails can be somewhat curved for a more secure joint. The individual hinge connection of the sections 26 to the strip 16 will permit adjustment of the angular position of the said sections to the said strip in order to permit a more convenient mounting of the protector on the heel in accommodating variations in the contour of the said heel. Thus, it can be seen that if the heel is not perfectly fiat, the adjustment available with the hinge segments can accommodate such non-planar curvature of the heel and thereby facilitate mounting of the protector on the shoe.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the drawings, my protection is to be limited only by the claim which follows.

I claim:

A heel protector comprising a U-shaped vertical strip adapted to abut against the periphery of the vertical portion of a shoe heel, in combination with a horizontal U-shaped strip attached to the lower periphery of the vertical strip and extending substantially at right angles to the said vertical strip when the said heel protector is mounted on a shoe, and wherein the said horizontal strip is divided into a plurality of spaced apart segments, each segment being of wedge-shape and tapering from a larger dimension adjacent the heel protector to a smaller dimension in a radially inward direction, each of said segments having a hole to receive a nail, and the space between the said segments forming a triangular opening varying from its narrow-most portion at the apex of the triangle adjacent said vertical strip to a maximum spacing along the inner periphery of the segments, each of said segments being hingedly attached to the vertical strip so that the horizontal segments can be individually positioned when aflixing the heel protector on a shoe to accommodate variations in the contour of the said heel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 250,581 12/1881 Rose 36-73 756,560 4/1904 Austin 36-73 X 1,620,413 3/1927 Urwin 36-73 1,964,049 6/1934 Giannini et al. 36-72 2,264,742 12/1941 COlbUIn 36-73 FOREIGN PATENTS 896,593 5/ 1944 France. 245,975 8/ 1947 Switzerland.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

FRANK I. COHEN, H. H. HUNTER,

Assistant Examiners. 

